Five most festive moments on the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk in Milan

The invitation said Tropico Italiano, and it was the perfect excuse for a party. As dancers emerged inside the Dolce Gabbana show in Milan, hundreds of screaming Italian teenage girls waited outside for a sight of their hero, platinum-blond American model Lucky Blue Smith, who was in the front row for the Italian fashion house’s spring/summer 2017 parade.

These were our five highlights from the show:

1. Street dancers materialised from the audience to get the party started, break dancing and cheering to joyous music before the models emerged from the neon-lit tropical nightclub.

2. The clothes had Dolce Gabbana’s familiar tropes – the military jackets, lace, corsets, ’50s styling. What was different was the lavish and detailed embellishments. Baroque motifs, religious iconography, slogans and lots of flowers decorated each piece.

A pair of masculine pinstripe trouser suits were as understated as it got, but even those had baroque embroidery on their backs.

3. The duo had fun with their prints, covering a pale pink dress with a shoal of fish, or adding ice cream cornets to swishy ’50s dresses. Mandolins, giant sunflower prints and a whole market garden of flowers decorated each piece.

5. Girls wore flowers and fruit in their hair Carmen Miranda-style, fun for the catwalk, but the colourful ’40s-style bandanas will be an easier way for the teenager who aspires to Dolce Gabbana to buy into the look, along with the jewelled denim and logo T-shirts.